Boot or shoe.



' Patented Nov. 28.1899. c. s. SMITH.

BUOT 0R SHOE.

(Application filed Nov. 8, 1897.) (No Model.)

a2 f Y! WITNEEEEE me Nonms pzrzns m.. worourna. WASHINGTON. n. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES S. SMITH, OF BROCKTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE- I'IALF TO JOHN B. HADAWAY, OF SAME PLACE.

BOOT OR SHOE.

SPECIFICATION .forming part of Letters Pateilt No. 637,948, dated November 28, 1899.

Application filed November 8, 1897. Serial No. 657,790. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES S. SMITH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Brockton, in the county of Plymouth and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Boots or Shoes; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The present invention relates to boots and shoes, and more particularlyto an improved welt for boots and shoes so constructed that said welt may be strongly secured to the upper and insole and able to withstand the great strain to which said welt is subjected in `the finished shoe.

The object of the present invention is to produce a welted shoe in which the portion of the welt which receives the stitches of the inseam will be greatly strengthened, so that a firm and strong union may be formed between the welt, upper, and insole,whereby the welt will not pull od under the strain to which it is subjected by the outsole, which is secured to said welt.

A further object of the invention is to so arrange the reinforcement of the welt that it will be hidden by the outsole when the outsole is in place and also so that the rough edges of the outsole and welt may be trimmed and finished without exposing the reinforcement of the welt.

To the above end the present invention consists of a welt for boots and shoes having a reinforcing-backing along the stitch-receiving portion thereof, said reinforcing-backing being narrower than the welt and arranged with one edge set back from the outer edge of the welt, all as will be hereinafter fully described and claimed.

The present invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l represents a perspective view of a portion of the forward part of a sole, showing in section the arrangement of the upper, insole, and my improved welt. Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view enlarged." Fig. 3 shows in perspective a section of my improved welt.

Similar letters of reference designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

In the drawings, A represents the upper of the shoe, B the insole, and C the welt, and as usual in welted shoes the insole is provided with a lip b,which receives the stitches a, which pass through and unite the edges of the upper and welt to theinsole, as clearly shown.

The welt C is shown enlarged in Fig. 3 and comprises a main body portion c, which may be formed of leather or other suitable material and which on its under side and near its inner edge is provided with a stitch-receiving groove c', said groove also acting to permit the edge of the welt to be bent up, as clearly shown in the drawings. "Welts as now commonly constructed are made of soft thin leather which is wet or tempered while being sewed to the shoe, and unless the tension of the sewing-machine is accurately adj usted the stitches are liable when drawn down tightly to set the stitch to cut through the edge of the welt, thus destroying the shoe, audit is a common occurrence to have the welt of a boot or shoe pull off during the wear of the shoe under the heavy strain which is put upon it by the outsole. In the improved welt of the present invention the stitch-receiving portion thereof is provided upon its under face with a reinforcing-backing c2, which may be cemented thereto preparatory to incorporating the weltin the shoe, as shown in Fig. 3, or which may be a separate strip laid against the welt and fed with said welt through the welt-guide of the sewing-machine in position to receive the stitches of the inseam as the welt is secured to the upper and insole. The reinforcing-backing c2 is preferably formed of some suitable strong textile fabric, such as canvas or the like, and is preferably narrower than the main portion c of the welt, and when cemented thereto it is arranged upon the under side of the main portion c, as shown in Fig. 3, with one edge thereof even with theinner edge of the main portion of the welt and its outer edge set back from the outer edge of the main portion c of the welt, and said reinforcing-backing is also preferably indented into the groove c', as clearly shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings.

Ico i It will be noted that by the present invention the stitch-receiving port-ion of the Welt is greatly strengthened and that the strain of setting the stitches and drawing down the edge of the welt into the angle between the lip and feather of the insole will be borne by the rein forcin g-backin g, th us preventing said stitches from cutting the welt, and that by making the reinforcing backing narrower than the welt and arranging it along the stitch-receiving portion of the welt it is entirely concealed in the finished shoe and is not liable of being cntinto when the outer sole and outer edge of the welt are being trimmed to shape.

Having fully described my invention, I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters. Patent of the United Statesl. The improved welt for boots and shoes, comprising a main body portion and a reinforcing-backin g narrower than said body portion secured to the under face of said body portion along the stitch-receiving edge thereof, the outer edge of the reinforcing-backing being set back from the edge of the main body portion, substantially as described.

2. A shoe comprising an upper, insole and welt, said welt comprising a main body por- 

